I am terrible with dates and anniversaries, so imagine my surprise when I received a WordPress notification that my Blogiversary was on August 18th and not the 11th like I thought… whoops.  The 11th was actually the day I made my first ever blog post, so it’s still a pretty big milestone in my book! Though, this post is super late (August is almost over)…

I can’t believe I managed to keep this blog running for two years, and I am super grateful to to each and every one of you folks out there for sticking with me through all of the ups and downs. I always say this, but you guys are the real MVPs here at Nice Job Breaking It, Hero and I am in awe of the outpouring of love you guys have shown me over these past two years. This blog is a labor of love, I put my heart into everything that I write and it’s humbling to know that so many people appreciate my thoughts and opinions. I appreciate you all taking the time to not just read my awkwardly random ramblings, but for also all the likes and comments, I may not always respond, but just know, I look forward to them all…

Since this is my 2 year anniversary, I feel like I should have something spectacular planned, buuuuuuut, I was never one for planning things out, I’m more of a night before kind of gal…. So, I don’t exactly have anything special plan, though I guess this is a good enough time as any to announce that I’ll be doing the Haikyuu Challenge in September (thank Mel, she graciously brought it to my attention over on Twitter)! Thirty days of Haikyuu goodness, to celebrate my birthday month (and Tsukki’s B-day), so be on the look out for that next month. As for right now…. I guess I could share my blogging story and highlight some of my favorite blog posts.

My Blogging Story

“I’m finishing up my final year of my Masters in Global Health, which means I do a lot of research writing. Mostly about infectious disease, health policy, advocacy, and other public health stuff. Don’t get me wrong I love the health field, especially mental health in developing countries, but sometimes you just need a break! So I started this blog as a way to appease my inner procrastinator. I often get really distracted when I have assignments, the bigger the paper the worse it is, so I came up with a brilliant plan! The idea was that as long as I was going to procrastinate on that important research proposal, I might as well do something semi-productive….I mean procrastinating is fine as long as I’m writing about something.”

(Excerpt from my Blogger Recognition post)

Yup, I started this blog just so I could feel good about procrastinating on a research assignment… story of my life. When I wrote my first post, I had no idea what I was going to do with this site, nor did I think I’d keep up with it for long. But here I am two years later, over 400 posts and followers, still truckin’ along. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero has gone through a number of changes over the years, (some for the better) but the heart and soul of the place still remains, this is a safe place for me to share my thoughts and opinions about what I love, be it otome games, webcomics, anime, manga, or whatever I’m obsessed with this week. But, I don’t want to do all the talking, I really want to hear from you guys, I welcome discussions, feedback, or even just a quick hello. I have met some amazing folks because of this blog and I can’t wait to meet more of you in the future!

My Favorite Blog Posts

Last year I wrote about the 5 things I learned in my 1st year of blogging, just a few tips and tricks I picked up…This year, I’m going to spotlight some of my favorite blog posts (in no particular order, of course).

1. Wait, Are those Guys Kissing?!: My Yaoi Journey- Part I– It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of BL media, but how did I find my way over to the “dark side”? In this post I talk about my early opinions of the genre all the way up to my very first introduction to the world of BL. It’s a personal post, that I had a lot of fun writing, ah, the memories! If past me could see current me, I wonder what she’d think….
2. Fangirl Moment: Roommates (Seok Young)– I did not expect to pick two BL posts in a row, but, this was one of my favorite Fangirl Moments posts this year. I love BL, from smut without plot to the progressive works, I read them all! But, Seok Young’s webcomic Roommates is one of my new favorites, because it’s just a fantastic comic all around. Yes, it’s a BL comic, and yes it has it’s fair share of cliches, but at the end of the day, this is a comic with a whole lot of heart!
3. I Date Hot Guys on My iPad: A Love Affair with Virtual Bishies– Back in January, I actually considered giving up on otome games for good, they just weren’t as fun for me as they used to be and writing reviews and whatnot was starting to become a bit of a chore. So, I decided to write about why I love otome games and how I got into them, as a way to remind myself why I started this blog in the first place. This is a personal post and one that is near and dear to my heart. So, if you want to know where the obsession with 2D men started, this post is the place to start!
4. Hit me right in the Childhood: An Ode to Pokemon– I’m smiling right now, because no matter how old I get, the Pokemon franchise will always have a special place in my heart. My first ever game was Pokemon Crystal and I have fond memories of racing through the Johto region with my trusty Typhlosion by my side… So, I wrote this post to relive some of that childhood nostalgia!
5. [OWLS Blog Tour] Forged Through Adversity: A Look at Killer B and the Shinobi of the Hidden Cloud Village– This was by far one of the easiest OWLS posts I have written to date, because it’s about a topic I am extremely passionate about…. As a woman of color, it’s hard to see positive images of people that look like me in the media and while my beloved anime has been pretty progressive in the way it depicts characters of color, there are a few portrayals that toe the line between what is acceptable and what isn’t. In this post I talk about my love/hate relationship with the portrayal of Killer B and the shinobi of Kumogakure in the Naruto series. *Note: This post is continuation of another post I did for my Melanin Monday post series.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL OF YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!! 

It’s been two wonderful years so far and I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you guys! I say this all the time, my blog is what it is because of you all out there I’m not one for special shout outs, you all know how much you mean to me and the folks I interact with the most definitely know how much I love them 😉 !

Your love and support means the world to me, I don’t really care much about the likes and views, those are just extra perks, what I really enjoy about blogging are the relationships I’ve made. I am so grateful to have met so many amazing people doing this, from my OWLS fam to the Otoge Sisterhood, you guys are all a big part of my life and I can’t imagine a world without you all in it!

I am ready for whatever is to come in the future, the ups and the downs, I say bring ’em on, I am ready to give it my best shot! Sometimes I make it, sometimes I break it, and other times I make things worse, but that’s okay, I just keep pushing forward and everything ends up working out in the end. So, here’s to breaking it in the future!!